Emirates Steel Arkan showcased its sustainable manufacturing efforts at the 2023 Fastmarkets Middle East Iron and Steel Conference 2023, highlighting how the efforts contribute to achieving the UAE’s net-zero targets.
As part of the group’s participation, Eng. Saeed Al Ghafri, chief executive officer of Emirates Steel, an Emirates Steel Arkan company, took part in a panel discussion titled “The Dawn of a New Steelmaking Era” which discussed various aspects of the steelmaking sector in the region, including the latest projects, regional demand drivers, challenges, and opportunities associated with energy transition, and the impact of global geopolitical environment on the steel industry.
Al Ghafri highlighted that while recent years witnessed a slow demand for steel, projected to decrease by 9% in 2023 due to factors like high interest rates and reduced demand for housing, the outlook for the next five years anticipates a resurgence supported by robust economic development, population growth, and mega-projects across the region.
Al Ghafri also emphasized the impact of the global geopolitical landscape on the steel business, as well as how government and policy makers have implemented various decisions to protect and ensure the sustainability of local industries.
Concluding his panel, Al Ghafri reaffirmed the group’s commitment to leading the industry’s decarbonization efforts through a detailed sustainability strategy that aims to implement carbon capture and other technologies on an industrial level. He also stressed the importance of collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders to achieve the ambitious goals of energy transition and a more sustainable and agile circular economy.
Several Emirates Steel Arkan executives also participated in a series of panel discussions that shed light on the opportunities in global steel decarbonization, human capital management, and the importance of women in the steel industry, as well as the latest technological frontiers for the steel business and the Middle East North Africa region.
